Monthly Archives: June 2015

The in basket: Charles Dick has a theory about why Bethel
Avenue, now undergoing a maintenance project by the city of Port
Orchard, is so terribly rough.

“Just after the county installed the new sewer line,” he said.
“There was an earthquake that caused a lot of the man holes to
sink. They have been a problem ever since, with many repairs,
but to no avail. The earthquake probably separated the pipe
joints, allowing soil to seep into the line, thus causing settling
around the manholes.

“The road is really bad throughout the whole of the northbound
lane,” he said. “It would seem that any repair will be major,
in order to fix those man holes and pipe joints before the road
base is repaired. Has anyone looked into that problem and do
you know of any plans to fix them?”

The out basket: The sewer lines and manholes are the property of
West Sound Utility District, which says the mains are fine, and
that the poor condition of the manholes has nothing to do with an
earthquake.

Brett Winters, operations manager for the district, says, “West
Sound Utility District installed the sewer main on Bethel Road in
1999. The sewer main and manhole locations are based on the
proposed road improvements by Kitsap County.”

Since then, Port Orchard has annexed the road and its
surroundings and that’s why it’s the one making pavement repairs on
a portion of it this summer

“The manholes are normally placed in the center of the road to
avoid traffic driving over them,” Brett continued. “The center of
the proposed road placed the manholes temporarily in the wheel path
of northbound vehicles on the existing road. The high volume of
traffic driving across the manhole covers has caused the adjustment
rings between the top of the concrete manhole structure and the
cover at the road surface to break down. The cover then sinks below
the surface of the asphalt as the adjustment rings degrade.

“The district has replaced the adjustment rings on the manholes
several times over the years but the long-term fix is to move the
manholes out of the wheel path of vehicles. We are working with the
city of Port Orchard during their planning process to improve the
Bethel Corridor. The alignment of the driving lane should move the
wheel path off the manholes providing a long-term fix for the
problem.

“The District has an aggressive sewer maintenance program that
provides for inspecting all manholes, televising, inspecting and
jet cleaning all sewer mains,” Brett said. “The pipe and manhole
structures are in excellent condition and we are confident that the
realignment of the driving lanes will stop the rapid deterioration
of the adjustment rings.”

Mark Dorsey, Port Orchard’s public works director, said the work
going on now is what he calls “mills and fills,” in which degrading
pavement and subgrade are ground out and replaced between Mitchell
Avenue and Vallaire Court on Bethel Avenue and between Cathie Lane
and Carl Pickel Drive on Lund Avenue, with a new overlay of the
Lund/Bethel intersection itself. The subgrade repairs can be more
extensive and include use of a geotextile fabric, he said.

More mills and fills along the rest of the Bethel corridor are
planned in 2016 and 2017.

The city must redesign the long-term improvement, which it will
begin doing in 2018. “The actual Bethel Corridor reconstruction
project is currently scheduled for 2025,” Mark said.

The in basket: Sharell
Lee asks, “What are the new objects on the poles above the traffic
lights at the intersection of Highway 303 and Brownsville
Highway? They look like cameras, but there are no square boxes
like at the intersection of Sylvan and Wheaton. What are
they?”

Steve Van Wyk saw them too and asked, “What’s the deal with all
the cameras that have been installed on Waaga Way and in Silverdale
? These things are now on virtually every stop-light
stanchion.”

The out basket: They are overhead traffic detectors, used
instead of the time-honored in-pavement wires that serve that
function at most intersections.

Kitsap County has been using them at many of its intersections
in Silverdale and South Kitsap for a few years. The state began
using them three years ago, says Claudia Bingham-Baker, its
spokeswoman for this region, and installs them as part of other
projects, rather than wherever they have the wires. The project in
this case is the paving work going on along 303.

I don’t recall seeing them on any other state signals here, but
Claudia says these are a long way from the being first for the
state.

They are preferred over the in-pavement wires, commonly called
“loops,” because they are much easier to repair when they
malfunction. Changes in the pixel pattern as vehicles arrive at a
red light tell the light when it should change.

A commenter (see comments) on the Road Warrior blog at
kitsapsun.com read the above and asked if the overhead detectors
will be kinder to motorcycle and bicycle riders, who often don’t
have the metal mass to be detected by the in-pavement wires.

Claudia said, “Yes, we think they
do detect bicycles and motorcycles better than the loops. That
would be especially true with bicycles built with carbon-fiber
frames, since the loops depend on metal to detect vehicles.
Having said that, as you pointed out, the video detectors work by
sensing contrast changes, so something like a deer could
theoretically trigger them whereas that would not be an issue with
the loops.”

The in basket: I noticed during a series of trips to Tacoma and
back recently that the median on Highway 16 along what I call the
Purdy Bypass is particularly attractive, with flowering trees and
other landscaping I must assume the state spend a good sum on when
the highway was built. Some other stretches of Highway 16’s median
are as nice.

But among the flowers in late May and early June was a tell-tale
bright yellow, the blooms of scotch broom. They actually looked
quite nice as an accent for the other plants while they lasted. But
we all know what happens when scotch broom goes untended. You can
see it blanketing the shoulders on either side of the nice
medians.

The state finds it nearly impossible to eradicate scotch broom
on its right of way, but I asked if the few plants that have gotten
a toe-hold in an area the state evidently paid to make garden-like
is something they try to remove.

The out basket: Claudia Bingham-Baker, spokesperson for the
state highways here, replied, “Unfortunately, we don’t have
dedicated resources to totally clear scotch broom from our right of
way. We use our limited resources to clear scotch broom in areas
where it limits sight distance or encroaches into travel lanes.

“In the area you referenced, the scotch broom actually serves
the useful purpose of reducing the glare at night from oncoming
headlights.

The in basket: Karen Loren of Tahuya and Dan Dittmer of
Belfair say the new Taco Bell in Belfair on Clifton Road has
created a headache that stacks up cars waiting for the left-turners
into the restaurant to get out of the way.

“With the new Taco Bell opening,” Dan said, “knot heads are
turning left from Clifton into Taco Bell across a double yellow
marked turn lane. All this happens with Highway 3 traffic
turning at the Safeway light to head towards South Shore (I think
he must mean North Shore). Someone is going get nailed.”

Karen said that those who have turned right from Highway 3
quickly are stopped behind those wanting to turn into Taco Bell
while cars in the left turn lane to enter the highway and go toward
Bremerton block them, if traffic in the straight ahead/right turn
lane hasn’t already. It’ll get worse during the tourist-heavy
summer, she predicts

Dan would like to see something like Kitsap County did on Myhre
Road in Silverdale to prevent left turns just past PetSmart – a row
of centerline pylons – and Karen advocates No Left Turn
signage.

The out basket: Loretta Swanson of Mason County Public Works
says, “The access to Taco Bell on Clifton Lane is to be a ‘right
in, right out’ only access. There are some site improvements
needed to make sure this happens and the project engineer for
Taco Bell is following up on this. Once the improvements are
made, it should make it more difficult for drivers (westbound)
to gain entrance from Clifton Lane.

“However, drivers may still attempt to cross the double
yellow and turn pocket in an attempt to get to Taco Bell!
Public Works is presently evaluating sign and paint marking options
to prevent this turning movement.”

It’s not illegal to turn across double yellow lines, not even
pairs of them. Only signs, an 18-inch or wider centerline,
crosshatching between the painted lines or a raised barrier forbids
them.

Loretta continued to say, “We appreciate you and your
readers passing along observations that may help improve
traffic safety. We also pass along a big ‘thank you’ for
drivers being patient and safe during the many infrastructure
improvements happening in Belfair.”

The in basket: Ken Hovater read the recent entry about the
improvements on Sedgwick Road at Ramsey Road that included
left turn pockets on Sedgwick and Ramsey and a right turn lane on
Ramsey, and asked, “Are there any similar plans to accommodate the
increased traffic from the housing development being built near the
intersection of Philips Road and Sedgwick?

The out basket: Some, though they wouldn’t be considered
similar.

Claudia Bingham Baker, spokesman for the state highways here,
said, “The Sedgwick/Phillips intersection already has left-turn
pockets, so no changes are planned there. What will be built
at that development is a new eastbound right-turn pocket from
Sedgwick, and eastbound right-in/right-out movement onto
Sedgwick.”

That work is mostly complete with the pavement widened and a
concrete island to force the right-in-right-out limitation
started.

There actually are two contiguous housing developments under way
there and those improvements appear to be the work of
those doing the upper project.

I expect there will have to be signs posted to forbid left turns
from the right-out-only access, as the temptation to turn left and
go west on Sedgwick will be great. It appears that the only
approved way out of both developments, for those wanting to go
toward Highway 16 and Port Orchard, will be via their Phillips Road
access and then to Phillips’ intersection with Sedgwick.

Traffic already backs up regularly on Phillips there and it
takes only a couple of cars wanting to turn left or go straight
before would-be right turners can’t get past and must also
wait.

Pressure for some kind of enhanced traffic control is sure
to build there.

The lower development is a “sweat equity” affordable housing
project of Housing Kitsap, in which the home owners help build
their homes. Stuart Grogan, head of Housing Kitsap, said his
organization bought half of the approved development that comprises
the two separate projects now.

“All of the circulation, intersection and access improvements as
well as any required mitigation was negotiated by the original
developer,” he said.

The in basket: Ron Johnson, a classmate of mine from South
Kitsap’s class of 1961, called to seek help slowing down traffic on
Sedgwick Road, near which he lives near the Southworth ferry
terminal.

He is upset by the lack of speed enforcement and the high speeds
of drivers on Sedgwick the last mile to the ferry, from just beyond
Harper Church. He contends that motorcycles are doing 70-80 mph and
cars are doing 50-60 mph.

Neighbors in the area have contacted/complained to the state DOT
and state patrol and asked why they don’t do more to enforce
speeds, especially in the morning and in the afternoon/commuting
hours, he said..

“A lot of us walk around here,” he said. “We’ve hit the ditch
more than once, believe me.”

He would like a flashing sign that shows speed, but state
officials have told the neighbors they can’t have them on a state
highway, he said.

The out basket: I’m not surprised by his assertions, but expect
the problem to exist on any highway leading to a ferry terminal.
Someone always seems to be running late for a departing boat.

State Trooper Russ Winger, spokesman for the State Patrol here,
says, “Yes, this is fairly common on the local roadways leading up
to the ferry terminals. Drivers are running late, trying to make
the next ferry. This is not going to change.

“Our troopers do work the areas for speed when they can. The
peak times for traffic to and from the terminals – a.m. and p.m. –
unfortunately coincide with peak traffic elsewhere in the county.
Troopers have more collisions, calls for service etc. to respond to
during these times so it is not always easy to get out to these
areas during the peak traffic times.

The areas in question, SR104 into Kingston and SR160 into
Southworth, are well outside the urban core area in Kitsap County.
This is another limiting factor along with the diminishing number
of troopers working Kitsap – down to 17 from 27 in last two years.
We provide 24/7 coverage and this puts between two and four
troopers on the road on any given shift in Kitsap County.

“Kitsap County is a busy area, law enforcement speaking. We have
plenty of traffic, collisions and calls for service that require
responding to.

“These might sound like excuses but it is simple fact based on
manpower available and calls for service.

“That said, we are aware of the potential speed problem in the
areas and we do try to get out to them and slow people down as much
as possible. Public perception of our efforts may or may not mirror
reality but we do listen and try to increase efforts in problem
areas.”

Claudia Bingham Baker of the state Department of Transportation
says, “We tried using a “your speed is” speed sign on SR 3 on a
trial basis, and we found it was not very effective. It’s not that
we can’t put up the signs, it’s that they are not effective enough
to be a good use of resources.”

It starts with Ellen Ross-Cardoso, who is curious about an
announcement she has been hearing on the Bainbridge Island-Seattle
ferry reminding those who boarded on a bicycle to make sure they
remember to leave with it. She thinks it’s dumb.

“Are bicycles so frequently left behind on the Bainbridge ferry
run that it’s truly necessary to issue a reminder during the
already annoying-enough arrival announcement on every run?” she
asked.

“In the decades I’ve been riding the ferry, bicyclists were
apparently capable until recently of riding off without having to
have their memories jogged as to their mode of transportation upon
boarding 35 minutes previously. When exactly did their memory
issues reach critical mass? Is there a known link between cycling
and memory loss? How frequently and in what numbers were/are bikes
left behind? Is the announcement making a sufficient difference
that it’s worth continuing to subject innocent victims to it?

“And lastly, is it only on Bainbridge? I’ve got a little money
riding on the answer to that one.”

“At first I thought it was a joke, but they say it every single
time. It’s not funny anymore,” she said.

The out basket: I don’t know why Ellen is so annoyed by the
announcement, though I thought it was peculiar too. But I was
thinking only of how easy it would be to set a bike aside so it
didn’t interfere with off-loading vehicles.

Cars left behind by fares who usually walk on but drove that day
and forgot would be more of an obstacle.

But Ellen and I both overlooked a key factor – the uncertainty
about what became of the bike rider. Did he or she fall or jump
overboard?

The Coast Guard will launch a search if a ferry rider is
considered missing after the boat arrives. It didn’t have figures
for how often they must respond and at what total cost. But when it
happens, they send out what they call a “response boat medium,”
which costs $6,631 an hour to operate, says Coast Guard Petty
Officer Amanda Norcross. If they add a helicopter (an MH65 Dolphin
helicopter, in Coast Guard parlance), that costs $8,600 an hour,
she said.

The expense can be avoided, she said, if comparing recordings of
the boat being loaded and then being off-loaded show someone biking
aboard but walking off.

Which led me to the question that makes this really interesting,
in my mind. Are all loadings and off-loadings recorded? And who
looks for a match?

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the first answer is yes,
as the ferries are an attractive terrorist target. And Helmut
Steele, the ferries head of security, said it is a Homeland
Security measure and there are cameras at all terminals and on each
ferry.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we do have people who, for a variety
of reasons, whether it is a challenge or whatever, to jump off a
ferry or to swim to shore.” Others do fall overboard or try to
commit suicide. “We use those cameras to decide what we have.”

He estimates that someone goes into the water from a ferry and
must be sought and retrieved about five times a year. The responses
often involve a lot more than the Coast Guard – crews of that ferry
and others, police and fire departments with rescue boats.

“My team has the ability to do that within WSF and WSP has a
homeland security division,” he said. “They are there in person but
also have a monitoring system that has the ability to monitor all
these public cameras.” The images go to a control center.

And the bike announcement is played on all ferry runs, not just
Bainbridge, he said.

He said the regular ferry rider may not be surprised that one
can’t board or leave a ferry without being recorded. There are
mentions of it in the terminals, on the boats and online, he
said.

But it’ll probably be news to the casual ferry patron – me for
example.

The in basket: Patricia Weatherman writes, “I thought that there
was a rule that you could not change lanes within so many feet of
an intersection (I think it was 100 feet when I took my driving
test.)

“I have had several near misses of people coming into my lane,
from either the right or left lanes, and one shot diagonally in
front of me in the middle of the intersection not too long ago,”
she said.

“This used to get a ticket real quick, now nobody seems to get
ticketed and we seem to tolerate multiple near-misses in any given
day. What gives??”

The out basket: The belief that you can’t legally change lanes
within 100 feet of an intersection probably arises from confusion
with the law the forbids passing within 100 feet of an
intersection.

State Trooper Russ Winger says, “There is not a (state law)
specific to prohibiting changing lanes within the intersection. A
turning driver should always remember this, even if the other
vehicle does not signal.

“There would be contributory fault if a collision occurred but
even so, why risk it? The driver entering traffic will have a
greater responsibility to yield the right of way. ‎Just wait until
the turn is safe and clear.”

The Road Warrior often finds himself turning right into
rush-hour traffic in Bremerton and I always remember that
admonition. Mostly I worry that the front end of my turning car
will swing into the inside lane too far but I also know that if
someone in that inside lane moves over and hits me, I could be
cited for failure to yield. If the inside lane traffic is moving at
all quickly, I wait.

The in basket: Several readers have asked about the pot holes
they’ve had to cross in order to mail a letter in the drive-up blue
boxes at the Silverdale Post Office.

“We would like to know who is responsible for filling in the
‘sinkholes’ in the side street by the Silverdale Post Office,”
wrote Mary Whitmer. “Coming out of the parking lot or getting to
the outside drop box is a hazard for our vehicles.
Hopefully, this is already on someone’s radar and is scheduled for
repair.”

“The potholes are large and deep – someone or something is gonna
get hurt,” said Ed, who didn’t want his last name used. He said he
contacted Kitsap County, but the reply was “not our problem.”

“We asked the postal clerk to see how the pot hole could be
repaired and he told us to contact the City of Bremerton,” said an
e-mail co-signed by Bill and Kathy Holland. “These pot holes have
been like that for over a month. Could you help with their
repair ?”

Gail Mustonen added her concern about the same problem just this
Monday.

The out basket: It was not the county’s problem because the
street is private, never turned over to the county. The city
of Bremerton has nothing to do with it.

There evidently has been some passing back and forth of the
responsibility. But Don Morris of Seattle, who says he manages the
building across the alley from the post office for the corporation
that owns it, says they have asked for bids on the repair and it
should be done in the next week or two. He wouldn’t get into
details about what will be done, beyond saying previous attempts to
repair the pot holes haven’t lasted and they’re looking for a more
permanent fix.

Postal patrons won’t be the only ones relieved to have the holes
filled. Paul Long of the Meineke store across the alley said
he won’t let his employees drive customers’ vehicles that way, for
fear the wheel rims might get bent.

The in basket: Melissa Carter Tangen asks a question I’m
surprised hasn’t been asked before during the 19 years of the Road
Warrior column. Is there still such a thing as jaywalking?

“The other day I was driving along Kitsap Mall Boulevard,”
Melissa said, “and a man was standing at the corner of Poplars
Road, with the intent to cross towards the mall. This is not a
crosswalk and there are no signs alerting drivers that pedestrians
may be crossing.

“A deputy was ahead of me in the left lane, I was in the lane
closest to the curb, and he had stopped in middle of the road to
apparently allow the pedestrian to cross. This was unknown to
me at the time.

“I slowed down, looked around to see if there was anything in
middle of the road that was preventing the deputy from driving and
saw nothing so I continued slowly forward. The deputy then
caught up with me, lights flashing, and warned me that pedestrians
always have the right of way (agreed), and if there is any intent
to cross the road, no matter where they are, that the drivers must
stop.

“Obviously I understand if there is a person in the road
crossing, I am going to stop. However if they are standing on
the curb planning to cross when the traffic is gone and they are
not near a crosswalk, am I really supposed to just stop in middle
of the road so they can perform, in all intents and purposes, a
‘jaywalk’?

“I could not find this rule anywhere in researching online, and
in my opinion this is very dangerous because the drivers are not
expecting to have to stop in middle of a stretch of road for a
pedestrian who does not wish to walk to a crosswalk. Can you
enlighten me as to whether this is the law or just a common
courtesy that may be done for a pedestrian?”

The out basket: Actually, the pedestrian Melissa describes
was in a crosswalk, an unmarked one, which are considered to
exist at any intersection of public roads that doesn’t have the
painted variety.

Jaywalking does exist but, like California stops, the law
doesn’t use the term. It says that a pedestrian cannot legally
cross in the middle of a block with traffic signals at adjacent
intersections. Kitsap Mall Boulevard’s intersections with
Silverdale Way and Northwest Plaza Road aren’t adjacent, because
Poplars lies between them and has no traffic signals. Plaza and
Randall Way, the next street to the north, have no intervening
intersections, so would be considered to be adjacent and crossing
at mid-block there would be illegal.

Entrances to business parking areas are not legally
intersections.

It’s a $56 fine.

Adjacent intersections with signals are uncommon in Kitsap
County, and therefore, so is jaywalking

Frankly, it’s a tough call on whether to stop for a pedestrian
waiting at the edge of a four- or five-lane street at an unmarked
crosswalk, legally required or not. Drivers may not be able to see
the walker because some car will always be stopped first, and may
shield the pedestrian from the view of those in the other lane. If
you don’t properly interpret why the other car is stopped, it seems
a situation where the pedestrian is in greater danger, not
less.

But the law says what it says, and Deputy Scott Wilson,
spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff’s department, puts it this
way.

“We recognize that the location where Poplars Avenue joins
Kitsap Mall Boulevard is not the most optimum in that the
intersection is on a curve. This intersection does not
contain a marked crosswalk that crosses the five lanes of Kitsap
Mall Boulevard.

” A pedestrian who wishes to cross Kitsap Mall Boulevard, at
this intersection, is required to wait until approaching traffic is
clear and it is safe to proceed across the roadway, per RCW
46.61.240(1).”

“If a pedestrian has stepped off of the curb and is walking
across a marked or unmarked crosswalk,” Scott said, “approaching
traffic must stop and yield to the pedestrian when the pedestrian
is within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the
vehicle is traveling. Essentially, if the pedestrian is
crossing in front of them, drivers need to wait until the
pedestrian has reached the centerline or center turn lane before
proceeding. If the pedestrian is crossing from the opposite side,
drivers must stop and yield once the pedestrian arrives at the
roadway centerline or center turn lane. RCW 46.61.235(1).

“Whenever a vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk, or at any
unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to
cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from
the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.
RCW 46.61.235(4). This is the statute that applies to the
situation presented by Ms.Tangen.

“Without speaking with the deputy mentioned in Ms. Tangen’s
e-mail,” Scott continued, “I don’t have the total story as to why
the deputy stopped to permit the pedestrian to cross at that
intersection. The law doesn’t require a driver to stop for a
pedestrian waiting on the sidewalk at an unmarked intersection to
cross the street. It’s the pedestrian’s responsibility to yield to
approaching traffic and proceed across the intersection when it’s
safe to do so.

“Jaywalking: yes, in those instances where a pedestrian would be
crossing the roadway between adjacent intersections at which
traffic control signals are in operation. This is more
applicable to urban settings than to most situations in
unincorporated Kitsap County, as there may be significant distance
between adjacent intersections with traffic control signals.

“Pedestrian safety recommendation: Take the extra time and steps
to walk to the nearest signal-controlled intersection. It doesn’t
take that much time. It’s inherently much safer than
attempting to cross five lanes of traffic where drivers are not
expecting a pedestrian to cross and visibility of the pedestrian
(by drivers) may be hampered. Go with the signal… it’s in
your favor!”